Charles Golvin's Blog

No, not cars that move quickly — cars that move data quickly via fast built-in connections. Today, GM announced that most of its US and Canadian 2015 model year Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicles would come equipped with built-in LTE connections — supplied by AT&T — powering a range of OnStar safety, security, diagnostic, and infotainment services. No surprise in cars getting LTE or in GM's leadership — the next logical step in the connected car chain that started with GM's launch of OnStar in 1996. More noteworthy are:

AT&T winning GM's business. Verizon Wireless powers the existing OnStar service, and, considering how vital coverage is to OnStar's safety and security services, Verizon's superior LTE coverage (273.5 million people versus 170 million for AT&T today) would seem to make it a logical choice for GM. Apparently GM was convinced by AT&T's public commitment to cover 300 million US consumers by year end 2014 — in addition to the ability to use the same technology globally and the superior performance of AT&T's network when LTE is unavailable.